1
MODULE 1 :
GUIDANCE : CONCEPT AND NEEDS
Concept of Guidance
Unit Structure :
1.0 Introduction 1.1 Objectives
1.2 Meaning and Principles of Guidance 1.2.1 Meaning of Guidance
1.2.2 Guidance and Education : Guidance and Counseling 1.2.3 Principles of Guidance
1.3 Need and Importance of Guidance 1.4 Scope of Guidance: Guidance Services
1.5 Implications of Areas of Guidance in Global Context. 1.5.1 Personal 1.5.2 Educational 1.5.3 Vocational 1.5.4 A vocational 1.5.5 Social 1.5.6 Moral 1.5.7 Health 1.5.8 Leisure-time 1.6 Let us sum up
1.0 INTRODUCTION
We are social beings and, so in some way or other we need help and guidance of others. Mother, father, grand parents, teachers and other elders, home, school and society guide youngsters for successful living. Due to explosion of knowledge, industrialization and changes in socio-economic set up the need of professional guidance is felt in the present day society.
In this unit you will be familiarized with concept, principles, need of guidance and implications of areas of guidance on global context.
1.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit you will be able to: Define the meaning of guidance
Describe the need for guidance State the principles of guidance Explain different areas of guidance
1.2 MEANING AND PRINCIPLES OF GUIDANCE
1.2.1 Meaning of Guidance:
Literally guidance means ‗to direct‘, ‗to point out‘, to show the path‘. It is the assistance or help rendered by a more experienced person to a less experiences person to solve certain major problems of the individual (less experienced) i.e. educational, vocational, personal etc.
Guidance is a concept as well as a process. As a concept guidance is concerned with the optimal development of the individual. As a process guidance helps the individual in self understanding (understanding one‘s strengths, limitations, and other resources) and in self-direction (ability to solve problems, make choices and decision on one‘s own).
1.2.2 Guidance and Education; Guidance and Counselling, Guidance and Education :
The aim of education is to achieve the fullest possible realization of possibilities inherent in the individual. Education fosters all aspects of an individual‘s personality. Guidance is an integral part of education and helps in achieving the goals of education. Guidance is quite essential for the development of individual which is the main objective of education. The Education Commission (EC-1964-66) observes ―Guidance should be regarded as an integral part of education and not as a special, psychological or social service which is peripheral to educational purposes. It is ―meant for all students not just for those who deviate from the norm in one direction or the other‖.
Jone, A.J., pointing out the relationship between guidance and education observes, ‗All guidance is education but some aspects of education are not guidance. Their objectives are the same the development of the individual but methods used in education are by no means the same as those used in guidance‖.
Guidance and Counseling :
The terms ‗guidance‘ and ‗counselling‘ have been loosely or interchangeably used. Guidance is a term which is broader than counseling and it includes counseling as one of its services. Butter makes a logical separation of the counseling process i.e. (i) adjustive and (ii) distibutive phase. In the adjustive phase, the emphasis is on social, personal and emotional problems of the individual, in the distributive phase the focus is upon educational, vocational and occupational problems. The ‗distributive phase‘ can be most aptly described as ‗guidance‘ while the ‗adjustive‘ phase can be considered as description of ‗counselling‘.
1.2.3 Principles of Guidance:
Guidance is based upon the following principles.
(i) Holistic development of individual : Guidance needs to be provided in the context of total development of personality.
(ii) Recognition of individual differences and dignity: Each individual is different from every other individual. Each individual is the combination of characteristics which provides uniqueness to each person. Similarly human beings have an immense potential. The dignity of the individual is supreme.
(iii) Acceptance of individual needs: Guidance is based upon individual needs i.e. freedom, respect, dignity.
(iv) The individual needs a continuous guidance process from early childhood throughout adulthood.
(v) Guidance involves using skills to communicate love, regard, respect for others.
1.3
NEED AND IMPORTANCE OF GUIDANCE
Guidance is needed wherever there are problems. The need and importance of guidance are as follows.
Self understanding and self direction: Guidance helps in understanding one‘s strength, limitations and other resources. Guidance helps individual to develop ability to solve problems and take decisions.
Optimum development of individual Solving different problem of the individual Academic growth and development
Vocational maturity, vocational choices and vocational adjustments
Better family life Good citizenship
For conservation and proper utilization of human resources For national development
Guidance is helpful not only for student and teacher in an educational institution but also to the parents ,administrators, planners and community members.
Check Your Progress – I
Q.1 Define guidance
Q.2 Explain the relation between guidance & counseling. Q.3 State the relation between guidance & Education. Q.4 Why do we need guidance?
Q.5 What should be the principles of guidance?
1.4 DIFFERENT SCHOOL GUIDANCE SERVICES
The school is expected to provide more than just teaching and instruction. A school guidance programme includes all those activities other than instructional which are carried out to render assistance to pupils in their educational, vocational, personal development and adjustment. The fundamental aim of guidance programme being the maximum development of the child, all guidance programme must be geared toward attainment of the goal. Guidance services can assist the pupils in knowing themselves-their potentialities and limitations, making appropriate choices in educational, vocational and other fields. Some of the important guidance services are;
The orientation services Student inventory services
Career Information services Counseling services
Group guidance services Placement services
Research and evaluation services
1.5 IMPLICATIONS OF AREAS OF GUIDANCE IN
GLOBAL CONTEXT
The students life is getting complex day by day. Students in the twenty-first century have facing many perplex and difficult situations i.e. to make wise curricular and other curricular choices, to acquire basic study skills for optimum achievement, adjustment with peers etc. In its beginning guidance was concentrated on problems relating to vocations. It was largely concerned with getting jobs for young people. Now guidance has gone for beyond this. It is now concerned with the entire individual in all aspects.
The areas of guidance are very vast. The following are some of the important areas of guidance.
1.5.1 Personal:
Students face many personal problems related to themselves, their parents and family, friends and teachers, etc. They often have memories related to home or family which creates feeling of disappointment in them. If their parents are expecting too much of them it leaves them with a feeling of incompetence and insecurity leading poor self-concept and self esteem. The objectives of personal guidance are to help the individual in his/her physical, emotional, social, rural and spiritual development.
The aims and objectives of personal guidance are :
To assist the individual in understanding himself/herself. To assist the individual involving the personal problems. To assist the individual in taking independent decisions and judgement.
To assist the individual to view the world and the social environment in right perspective.
To assist the individual in making sound adjustments to different problems confronted in life.
Personal guidance is necessary at all stages of life. At the elementary school stage opportunities should be given to students
for their self expression. Personal guidance at this stage deals with the problems related to feeling of insecurity, social acceptance, discipline etc.
At the secondary stage, the students have more intricate personal problems. During the secondary stage adolescent students due to peculiar physical, emotional and social developments undergo noticeable changes in their attitude and behaviour. Personal guidance at this stage should therefore focus on personal and social adjustment.
Personal guidance at the tertiary stage aims at helping them view life in relation to reality. The scope of personal guidance at this stage is very wider.
1.5.2 Educational Guidance:
If one closely examines the problems of young pupils in schools and colleges, one would exactly realize the need of educational guidance. Educational problems head the needs of students‘ problems. So education is an important guidance area.
Educational guidance is related to every aspect of education school / colleges, the curriculum, the methods of instruction, other curricular activities, disciplines etc. Educational guidance is the assistance given to the individual (i) to understand his/her potentialities (ii) have a clear cut idea of the different educational opportunities and their requirements (iii) to make wise choices as regards to school, colleges, the course : curricular and extra curricular.
Some of the aims and objectives of educational guidance are: To assist the pupil to understand him/herself i.e. to understand his/her potentialities, strength and limitations. To help the child make educational plans consist with his/her abilities, interests and goals.
To enable the student to know detail about the subject and courses offered.
To assist the student in making satisfactory progress in various school/ college subjects.
To help the child to adjust with the schools, its rules, regulations, social life connected with it.
To help the child in developing good study habits.
To help the child to participate in out of class educational activities in which he can develop leadership and other social qualities.
At the elementary stage guidance programme must help the children to make good beginning, to plan intelligently, to get the best out of their education and prepare them for secondary schools. Educational guidance needs to be used in diagnosing difficulties, in identifying the special needs of children.
At the secondary stage educational guidance should help the pupils to understand themselves better, to understand different aspects of the school, to select appropriate courses to get information about different educational opportunities, to develop good study habits. The students should be helped to be acquainted with the vocational implications of various school subjects.
Educational guidance at the tertiary stages must oriented students about purpose and scope of higher studies and helps them to stimulate their studies. Each college/ university must have a guidance unit with due provision of guidance services.
1.5.3 Vocational Guidance:
You know that ‗bread and butter aims‖ is one of the main aims of education. Due to advancement in science and technology and consequent charges in industry and occupations have been emerged. There are thousands of specialized jobs/ occupations. In this context, there is a great need for vocational guidance.
Vocational guidance is a process of assisting the individual to choose an occupation, prepare for it, enter upon it and progress in it. It is concerned primarily with helping individuals make decisions and choices involved in planning a future and building a career. The purpose behind assisting the youth to choose, prepare, enter and progress in a vocation is the optimum growth of the individual.
Some of the aims and objectives of vocational guidance are:
Assisting pupil to discover his/her own abilities and skills to feet them into general requirements of the occupation under consideration.
Helping the individual to develop an attitude towards work that will dignify whatever type of occupation s/he may wish to enter. Assisting the individual to think critically about various types of occupations and to learn a technique for analyzing information about vocations.
Assisting pupils to secure relevant information about the facilities offered by various educational institutions engaging in vocational training.
At the elementary stage, although no formal guidance programmes are needed, the orientation to vocation can be initiated at this stage. At this stage some qualities and skills which have grater vocational significance viz. love and respect for manual work (ii) training in use of hands (iii) spirit of cooperative work (iii) sharing (vi) appreciation for all works (vii) good interpersonal relationship are to be developed.
At the secondary stage vocational guidance should help the students to know themselves, to know the world of work, to develop employment readiness to develop decision making rules.
At the higher education stages it should be more formal one. The objectives of guidance at this stage are to help the students to get information about different career, training facilities, apprenticeship etc.
1.5.4 Avocational Guidance:
The individual student spends only a small portion of his time i.e. 4 t0 6 hours per day in school. The rest of the time needs to be effectively managed and utilized by the child for his/her progress and development. Avocational guidance helps the child to judiciously utilize the leisure time. The other co-curricular activities play an important role in all-round development of the child .But many parents, teachers and children put secondary importance to these activities. The students need to be properly guided for effective participation in varied types of avocational pursuits so that they are able to shape their interpersonal behavior in desirable direction and widen their outlook.
1.5.5 Social Guidance:
We are social animals. But social relationships constitute a problem area for most of the students. School/educational institution is a miniature society and pupil from different socio-economic status, linguistic and socio-cultural background read there.Students some time may face problems in adjustment and social relationship. It is very important that the students to be helped in acquiring in feeling of security and being accepted by the group;in developing social relationship and in becoming tolerant towards others. This is the task of social guidance. Formally social guidance can be given by educational institutions whereas informal guidance may be provided by Family, religious institutions, Media etc.
1.5.6 Moral Guidance:
Moral values occupy an important place in our life.Some times due to influence of diverse factors students tell lies and indulge in undesirable practices. Moral guidance helps in bringing these students in to proper track and help in their all round development.
1.5.7 Health Guidance:
Health is regarded as the wealth.Total health i.e. preventive and curative is the goal of health guidance.The health guidance may be a cooperative effort of Principal, Doctors, Counsellor/psychologist, Teachers, Students and parents. For promoting preventive care the conditions of school hostel, canteen needs to be checked. Similarly health education through formal classes and information is essential in school education stages. In the present day the concern of health guidance also pertains to guidance in HIV/AIDs.
1.5.8 Leisure – time guidance :
Guidance for leisure is basically a part of personal guidance. the individual should know how to utilize his/her leisure time fruitfully. leisure generally refers to free time a person at his disposal. leisure in modern time is available to those who are technically trained and efficient. But, unfortunately most of us do not know how to utilize the leisure time. That is why guidance for leisure is necessary.
Leisure can be fruitfully utilized for two purposes. First of all Leisure provides us time for personal development. One can increase his efficiency by utilising his leisure time.
The second use of leisure is that it helps the individual to be more productive by getting the necessary rest and recreation. Jones divides leisure time activities into four groups.
1. Escape activities
2. General culture or appreciation activities. 3. Creative activities and
4. Service activities
It has also been suggested that individuals should spend their leisure time in social welfare activities. For professional growth are must take active interest in the professional society of his profession.
Thus it is quite evident that guidance for leisure is extremely important in modern society because it helps the individual to attain efficiency and become a useful member of the society.
Therefore, it has been suggested that in the school curriculum there should be provision for teaching about various leisure time activities so that children will able to know about them.
Check Your Progress – II
Q.1 What are the different guidance services?
Q.2 Differentiate between vocational & a vocational guidance. Q.3 Explain the use of leisure time guidance.
Q.4 Write short notes on :
a) Objectives of educational guidance. b) Need of vocational guidance.
c) Orientation services. d) Personal guidance
1.6 LET US SUM UP
Guidance is a concept as well as a process. Guidance is different from education and counseling. Guidance is based upon the principles of holistic development of individual, recognition of individual differences and dignity and acceptance of individual needs. Guidance is needed wherever there are problems. Guidance helps in optimum development of individual, Solving different problem of the individual, Academic growth and development, Vocational maturity, vocational choices and vocational adjustments, Social personal adjustment., Better family life, for conservation and proper utilization of human resources, and national development. Guidance is helpful not only for student and teacher in an educational institution but also to the parents, administrators, planners and community members. A school guidance programme includes all those activities other than
instructional which are carried out to render assistance to pupils in their educational, vocational, personal development and adjustment. The areas of guidance are very vast. Some of the important areas of guidance are personal, educational, vocational, avocational, health, social etc.
UNIT END EXERCISES
1. What is guidance? Discuss the need and importance of guidance.
2. Discuss the principles upon which guidance is based.
3. State the importance of educational guidance and vocational guidance.
4. Write short notes on: a) Personal guidance b) Guidance and education c) Guidance and Counselling
SUGGESTED READINGS
Agrawal,R(2006) Educational,Vocational Guidance and Counselling,New Delhi,Sipra Publication
Bhatnagar,A AND Gupta,N(1999).Guidance and Counselling:A theoretical Approach(Ed),New Delhi,Vikash Publishing House
Jones, A.J.(19510.Principles of Guidance and Pupil Personnel work,New Y ork,MiGraw Hill
Kochhar, S.K., (1985): Educational and Vocational Guidance in Secondary Schools,New Delhi,Strling Publisher NCERT (2008).Introduction to Guidance,Module -1,DEPFE,New Delhi
1A
Module -1
TYPES AND AGENCIES OF GUIDANCE
1A.0 Introduction 1A.1 Objectives
1A.2 Types of Guidance: Individual and Group 1A.2.1 Individual guidance
1A.2.2 Group Guidance: Concept, Need and Significance 1A.2.3 Organization of Group Guidance activities
1A.2.4 Techniques of Group Guidance 1A.2.5 Advantages of Group Guidance 1A.2.6 Limitations of Group Guidance 1A.3 Agencies of Guidance at different Levels 1A.3.1 International Level Agencies
1A.3.2 National Level Agencies 1A.3.3 State Level Agencies 1A.3.4 Local Level Agencies 1A.4 Let us Sum up
1A.0 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit you have learnt about meaning, importance and areas of guidance. You have also learnt about different school guidance services. One of the services is group guidance service .From the organization point of view guidance can be of two types‘ i.e. individual and group. Many institutions/organizations work in the area of guidance and counseling. In this unit you will learn about importance of group guidance and international, national and state level agencies of guidance.
2.1 OBJECTIVES
After going through this unit, you should be able to: define group guidance
aware of the need and importance of group guidance
know the practical consideration of organization of group guidance activities;
understand the limitations of group guidance activities; and deal effectively with the problems of organization of such group guidance activities
state the role and functions of different agencies at international, national and state levels.
1A.2 TYPES OF GUIDANCE: INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP
1A.2.1 Individual guidance:
Individual guidance is tailored to an individual. It is advice, strategy or planning designed for a singular person or thing and their unique situation. This is in contrast to general guidance which is frequently based on demographic information such as age or income or meant for the general population. The most common reference to individual guidance is in reference to children or students. This is ideally the role of guidance, educational or career http://www.ehow.com/careers/ counselors.
Individual guidance can be used to refer to any advice, usually professional advice, given to a person based on their unique circumstances. This could include legal services, career counseling, financial planning, medical or psychological advice or a number of other areas where a trained professional is looked to for direction in a given area.
1A.2.2 Group Guidance: Concept, Need and Significance:
Group refers to collection of people, interaction between individuals, development of shared perceptions, the development of affective ties and the development of interdependence of roles. For example many students and teacher/teachers at one school may gather together to form a group.
Group guidance encompasses those activities of guidance which are carried on in a group situation to assist its members to have experiences desirable or even necessary for making -appropriate decisions in the prevailing contexts. In a more specific term, it is guiding the individual in a group situation. Group could be of any type ,but for guidance purposes a group should have a common goal. Just collection of individual may not be called a group for organizing guidance activities. Selection of group
members will have to depend on sharing a common problem, volunteering to be members and willingness to group activities.
Jones, A.J(1951)define group guidance ‗as any group enterprise or activity in which the primary purpose is to assist each individual in the group to solve his problems and to make his adjustment‘.
Group guidance is used to address the developmental needs of a functional group consisting of a number of students to implement programme that would benefit them at all time.Students in group with common problems and concerns are helped in groups i.e. small or large. In other words, if guidance is to be available to all, it should be planned in groups.
Some of the objectives of group guidance are:
1. To help people in identifying common problems, analyse them and find relevant solutions
2. To place a wide range of information before people with common problems which could be useful for them for finding solutions?
3. To provide a platform where people with common problems could interact with each other and could be benefited by each other‘s perspectives, ideas and experiences
4. To help in creating an atmosphere where people could get an opportunity to express themselves and in the process analyze themselves.
1A.2.3 Organization of Group Guidance Activities:
Planning of group guidance activity may focus the following points.
1. Need Assessment: The need assessment must be done to
find out the common problems of individuals in the group. This can be done by administering questionnaire, checklists and interview.
2. Determining size of the group and time, venue for group activities: Depending upon the group activity the size of the
group should be fixed. The size should be approachable and manageable. The venue should be selected taking in to account the group selected for activity.
3. Selection of members and role specifications: The
participants selection for group guidance activity is also very important. The students for example should be communicated about their roles in group activities.
4. Orientation of Members: The group goals should be
clarified. It should be stated in clear, objective and measurable terms.
5. Monitoring of activities and evaluation of outcomes: If we
want to conduct the activities purposefully, it should be properly monitored taking into account the goal/s.Feedback about activity needs to be collected from participants.
Some of the common group guidance activities are: Class talk, career talk, displays and exhibitions.
1A.2.4 Techniques of Group Guidance:
A number of techniques are used in organizing group guidance.
Group Discussion: For example at senior secondary stage students should have knowledge about different career.A group discussion may be organized in the school. For organization of the group discussion proper room/hall, group and relevant topic and expert/resource person should be selected. The group discussion will be useful only if the members participate effectively without the fear and all the members have the opportunity to participate. But the effectiveness of the groupm discussion depends upon the facilitator and the group selected.
Problemsolving: For solving individual as well as common problems, problem solving can be applied as a technique. It comprises of the following steps;
Existence of common problem Focused description of the problem
Initiation of action for solving problem based on relevant facts
Analysis of problem in the light of data collected Listing of possible solutions and Evaluation of them
Acceptance of degree of acceptance of solution in the group
Role play: In small group role playing can be adopted as a technique of guidance. Role playing is a method where real life situations are simulated by group members/participants. This provide new insight, intuitions, skills and understanding of opposing viewpoints. The role playing may comprise of the following steps;
Existence of common problem
Assigning of roles
Preparation of other members/audience to observe intelligently
Assessing the role play
Concluding session and feedback
Other methods like case study and sociometric technique can be used as group guidance technique.
1A.2.5 Advantages of Group guidance:
We have discussed about different activities and approaches of group guidance. Some of the advantages of group guidance are as follows:
Inspires learning and understanding: Interaction in group setting inspires learning and understanding of students. The student learns from other member of group.
Saves time and effort: Group guidance technique can save time and effort of both the counselor and students. The time saved can be used for the more difficult and complex problems of students.
Improvement of student’s attitude and behavior
Development of wholesome and helpful awareness of
unrecognized needs and problems of student/s
1A.2.6 Limitations of Group Guidance:
Group guidance though serves a useful purpose, but they cannot be taken as a substitute for individual counseling. Group activities serve many of the objectives of the school guidance programme, but not all of these. Further students may feel hesitant to come out with their personal problems in the group. So, in these cases group guidance cannot be of help.
Group guidance activities serve useful purposes specially saving in time and effort. While organizing these activities, some problems that a counsellor may face are mentioned below:
A rigid type of administration is often a major cause of trouble. Generally, when the counselor asks for time in the time table for conducting these guidance activities, he/she may get a discouraging reply, the time table is already full. No periods are free. So the counsellor is left with no other choice than to take the substitute management period.
Lack of cooperation on part of the administration as well as the staff members may also create problems in organizing such activities. Teacher may feel this as an addition burden. Lack of adequate funds is another problem.
Check Your Progress – I
Q.1 What is individual guidance? Q.2 What is group guidance?
Q.3 What are the objectives of group guidance? Q.4 How can you organize group guidance activities?
Q.5 State the techniques of group guidance. Explain Role play technique of group guidance.
1A.3 AGENCIES OF GUIDANCE AT DIFFERENT
LEVELS:
Different agencies i.e. government and private at international, national and regional level have been doing significant works in the area of guidance. These agencies are working in training /orientation, career guidance services or development of materials for guidance workers/functionaries.
1A.3.1 International Level:
International Association of Educational and Vocational Guidance (IAEVG)is a worldwide guidance and counselling
organization, whose mission is to promote the development and quality of educational and vocational guidance. IAEVG‘ s mission is also to ensure that all citizens who need and want educational and vocational guidance and counselling can receive this counselling from a competent and recognized professional. The objectives of the organization are as follows :
To promote communication among persons and organizations active in educational and vocational guidance.
To encourage the continuing development of ideas, practice and research in the field of guidance and counselling on each level, national and international, in developing and developed countries.
To advise government and national or international organizations on the development of guidance systems and further the exchange of professionals and experts.
To collect and disseminate information of interest in the field of educational and vocational guidance practice, study and research
The Mission of IAEVG is to:
advocate that all citizens who need and want educational and vocational guidance and counselling can receive this counselling from a competent and recognized professional recommend the basic nature and quality of service that
should typify the service provided to students and adults recommend the essential training and other qualifications that
all counsellors in educational and vocational guidance should have
urge governments to enhance, facilitate or establish an agency, institution, or office with responsibility to develop and maintain
policies governing the provision of educational and vocaitonal guidance
the provision of training and continuing education programs for counselling and guidance practitioners
the development and provision of appropriate and effective methods and materials for guidance
the conduct of research and development to create new, more comprehensive, and better ways of conducting educational and vocational guidance
the development of appropriate methods of evaluation af counselling and guidance
The Association publishes a newsletter three times a year. Furthermore IAEVG publishes the International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance which is a refereed journal publishing articles in relation to work and leisure, career development, career counseling and guidance and career education. The website can be found at www.iaevg.org/
Cedefop, the European Agency to promote the development
of vocational education and training, is the European Union‘s centre of expertise to support the development of VET and evidence-based policy-making. One important task for Cedefop is to provide guidance practitioners with advice, research, analysis and information. On Cedefop‘s website European Training Village (ETV)there is an area with information on lifelong guidance (Choose lifelong guidance in the left menu). Here you will find information on European guidance projects, links to publications and research results, examples of good guidance strategies and practices and a live network for all the actors who have an interest in the field. The website can be found at www.cedefop.europa.eu/
FEDORA is an organisation for those involved in student
guidance in institutions of higher education in Europe. The FEDORA network has especially the focus on the higher student mobility across Europe and the challenges that gives to the guidance practitioners. FEDORA contributes to the further development of the guidance practitioners‘ competencies so they can better support, inform and guide the students on mobility issues. FEDORA organizes congresses, conferences and summer universities and each event takes place every three years. All types of events take place in different countries in the FEDORA member states each year. The website can be found at fedora.plexus.leidenuniv.nl/
IAC (International Association for Counselling) wishes to
encourage the exchange of ideas, research findings and personal experience in the field of counselling and guidance. This happens, among others, through organising conferences and publishing the International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling. The website can be found at www.iac-irtac.org/
The International Centre for Career Development and
Public Policy, ICCDPP, has the task to facilitate international
sharing of knowledge and information concerning public policy and career development issues. ICCDPP has a base for knowledge and information which contains proceedings from international symposia, and reports and news provided to the site by the users and by other international contacts. ICCDPP is supported by OECD, the World Bank, and the European Commission etc. The website can be found at www.iccdpp.org
The Nordic Association of Educational and Vocational
Guidance is a coalition of national associations for education and
vocational guidance in the Nordic countries and the self-governing areas of Aaland Islands and Faeroe Islands. The aim of NFUE is to
strengthen professional educational and vocational guidance in Nordic countries.
NAEVG organizes seminars and conferences and develops cooperation with the Baltic countries. The website can be found at www.nfsy.org
The European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network aims to assist the European Union Member States and the Commission in moving European cooperation on lifelong guidance forward in both the education and the employment sectors. The purpose is to promote cooperation at Member State level on lifelong guidance and to propose appropriate structures and support mechanisms in implementing the priorities identified in the Resolution on Lifelong Guidance (2004). The ELGPN was established by the Member States and the Commission has foreseen to support the activities of the network in 2007-2008 under the Lifelong Learning Programme. The website can be found at ktl.jyu.fi/ktl/elgpn/
International Labour Organization(ILO):
The ILO is the international organization responsible for drawing up and overseeing international labour standards. It is the only 'tripartite' United Nations agency that brings together representatives of governments, employers and workers to jointly shape policies and programmes promoting Decent Work for all. This unique arrangement gives the ILO an edge in incorporating 'real world' knowledge about employment and work.The organization publishes the results of research related to changing nature of work and employment which is important for policy makers and other users.
1A.3.2 National Level Agencies:
At national level the following organizations work in the area of guidance and counseling.
National Council of Educational Research and Training(NCERT):The Department of Psychology and Foundation
of Education(DEPFE), a Department under NCERT,New Delhi and Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central Institute of Vocational Education(PSSCIVE) ,Bhopal a constituent of NCERT organize programme on guidance and Counselling.Some of the functions of
PSSCIVE are:
To advise and assist the Ministry of Human Resource Development, State Governments and Union Territory Administration in the implementation of the Vocational Education and Work Experience Programme.
To function as the technical wing of the Joint Council of Vocational Education on all matters relating to Vocational Education Programme (VEP).
To promote, supervise and guide the establishment of a comprehensive management system for VEP.
To serve as a resource institution for both formal and non-formal VEP.
To orient and train various key functionaries of VEP, including teachers.
To evaluate and monitor VEP in States/UTs.
To ensure uniformity and maintain quality standards in vocational teaching and learning.
To provide guidance and counseling on Vocational Education and Training to the people at large.
DEPFE is the department of NCERT which coordinates guidance
activities in the country. The department runs an International Diploma Course in Guidance and Counseling in collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning, Canada. This course is offered at the Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education (DEPFE), NCERT New Delhi as well as five Regional Institutes of Education located at Bhubaneswar Bhopal, Mysore, Shillong, and Ajmer. Besides the department conducts training programme in the field of guidance and counseling.
Central Institute for Research and Training in Employment Service (CIRTES) was established in October, 1964 under the
aegis of Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGE&T), Ministry of Labour, Government of India. Later, in 1970 and in 1987, the Institute was expanded with the added responsibilities of developing career literature and to provide guidance for the promotion of self-employment. The Objectives of CIRTES are:
Planning and conducting training programmes for Employment Service Personnel at State, National and International Levels.
Conducting research into problems concerning the activities of the Employment Service.
Development and publication of career literature and audio-visual aids for use in Vocational Guidance and Career Literature Programmes.
Development of motivational material for promotion of self-employment.
There are four divisions of CIRTES i.e. training division, research division, career study center and self employment guidance cell.
1.TRAINING DIVISION
Training Division caters to the training needs of all the Employment Officers of the country in placement, vocational guidance, employment market information, self-employment promotional activities and other related matters. Instructional materials and training aids are devised and developed to assist the States in organizing training programmes for the staff of their employment exchanges. Besides, special training programmes for the employment officers of foreign countries under various ILO bilateral programmes are organized on request basis. The Division also associates with other training organisations for imparting training in the field of vocational guidance and self-employment.
2. RESEARCH DIVISION
Research Division conducts studies on organizational, operational and procedural aspects of NES, labour market conditions and other related matters. Development of various tools and techniques and evaluation of various programmes of NES inter alia come under its purview.
3. CAREER STUDY CENTRE (CSC)
CSC develops and publishes the career literature in the shape of bookelets and pamphlets/folders on various careers/occupations covering their job content, educational preparatory requirements, employment and self-employment opportunities, as a reference tool to meet the career planning needs of students, job seekers, Vocational Guidance Officers/Counsellors and others. These publications are disseminated to Employment Exchanges, University Employment Information & Guidance Bureaux (UEIGBx), Coaching-cum-Guidance Centre for SC/ST, colleges, schools and also to other agencies engaged in vocational guidance activities, through Employment Exchanges as per their jurisdiction.
4. SELF-EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE CELL (SEGC)
SEGC prepares informative and motivational material to assist Employment Officers in guiding and confidence building among job seekers for adopting self-employment ventures. It also
provides training to the Employment Officers on self-employment promotional related activities.
Directorate General of Employment and Training(DGE&T),under Ministry of Labour evolves policy
and standards for vocational guidance activities through employment exchanges.
Other organizations like University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) also works on guidance and counseling.
1A.3.3 State Level Agencies of Guidance:
At state level SCERT, Bureau of Educational and Vocational Guidance, Directorates of Employment work for guidance of students.
SCERT/State Guidance Bureaus coordinates guidance services
at the state level. They organize state level training./orientation for guidance personnel.
State Directorates of Employment coordinates vocational
guidance programme through employment exchanges in states.They also develop publication on occupational information.
Universities; In university employment bureaus facilities are
provided for students.
1A.3.4 Local Level:
At the local level some district employment exchanges, private agencies and institutional level organizations work for guidance and counseling.
The role of NGOs at different level for providing guidance activities is also very important.
Check your Progress – II
Write short notes on the following :
a) IAEVG
b) CIRTES
c) SEGC
d) ILO
e) SCERT
Individual guidance can be used to refer to any advice, usually professional advice, given to a person based on their unique circumstances. Group guidance is used to address the developmental needs of a functional group consisting of a number of students to implement programme that would benefit them at all time Organization of Group Guidance Activities should focus on Need Assessment, Determining size of the group and time, venue for group activities, Selection of members and role specifications, Orientation of Members, Monitoring of activities and evaluation of outcomes. Problem solving, role play, group discussion, case study and sociometric are some of the important techniques of group guidance.
At international level IAEVG, Cedefop, ILO, Nordic Association of Educational and Vocational Guidance work in the area of guidance. At the national level NCERT, CIRTES and DGE & T are important organizations in the field of guidance.
UNIT END EXERCISES
1. Explain the term group guidance.
2. Discuss any two group guidance activities which are carried out in school.
3. Discuss various techniques of group guidance with suitable examples.
4. Prepare a list of national and international agencies of guidance listing their works.
SUGGESTED READINGS
Agrawal,R(2006) Educational,Vocational Guidance and Counselling,New Delhi,Sipra Publication
Bhatnagar,A AND Gupta,N(1999).Guidance and Counselling:A theoretical Approach(Ed),New Delhi,Vikash Publishing House
Jones, A.J.(19510.Principles of Guidance and Pupil Personnel work,New York,MiGraw Hill
Kochhar, S.K., (1985): Educational and Vocational Guidance in Secondary Schools,New Delhi,Strling Publisher
2
GUIDANCE FOR POPULATION WITH
SPECIAL NEEDS
a.
Mentally Challenged Learners: Slow Learners,
Mentally Retarded and Gifted.
b.
Learning Disabilities: Dyslaxia, Dysgraphia and
Dyscalculia.
Unit Structure
2.0 Objectives 2.1 Introduction
2.2 Mentally Challenged learners 2.2.1 Slow learners 2.2.2 Mentally Retarded 2.2.3 Gifted 2.3 Learning disabilities 2.3.1 Dyslenia 2.3.2 Dysgraphia 2.3.3 Dyscalculia 2.4 Let us sum up
2A.0 OBJECTIVE
After reading this unit you will be able to : Define mentally challenged learners.
State different types of mentally challenge of learners. Identify special problems of slow learners.
Explain learning disabilities. Tell examples of disability.
2A.1 INTRODUCTION
Children who have been determined to require special attention and specific necessities than other children. Special needs children face a lot of emotional, social and psychological problems due to their disability. A teacher can prove to be very helpful to students in providing personal and academic support. A little help and concern from a teacher can help them stabilize their emotional, social and psychological levels into a more balanced learner in the classroom. Under a teacher's guidance, students will feel secure and more engaged in the learning process. Teacher guidance can help students with special needs express their feelings and communicate their needs freely in the classroom which will create a more constructive student/teacher engagement and understanding.
Therefore by providing guidance to students with Special needs, teachers can effectively help students towards a greater academic and social adjustment to their learning environment.
2.2 MENTALLY CHALLENGED LEARNERS
SLOW LEARNERS: MEANING
Slow-learners are those who fail in school because of their low intellectual abilities. Their IQ ranges from 55 / 60 to 85 / 90. They have a wide range of abilities and a variety of characteristics depending on their background.
The term Slow-learners is used to cover various group of students otherwise referred to ‗Dull‘,‗Retarded‘ or ‗Educationally Subnormal‘. Now the term Slow-learners is used more widely to indicate the fairly large group of children whose learning is slowed down by one or more factors of which limited ability may be one even though their intellectual potential may be considerably higher. Definitions
Knoff (1987) – Slow Learner is the one who learn or underachieve, in one or more academic areas, at a rate that is below average yet not at the level considered comparable to that of an educable mentally retarded student.
Types of SL:
Very Backward – Due to retarded mental development accompanied by psycho-social deficiency.
Ability not quite limited but having difficulty in learning than average children due to school, family or personal factors.
They may derive benefits from special classes not limited in intelligence but have
problems in reading and writing where as arithmetic and other subjects are high. Their causes may range from specific perpetual difficulties to emotional maladjustment. For them some kind of remedial teaching is required.
In some schools there are many SL, for them sometimes special class is required. The children receive education in special school or class move to a regular school after the backwardness is removed.
These children are hard to identify as they even manage in a less advanced society and do not drew attention easily as deaf, blind or physically handicapped do.
The period at which their limitations arise are most obvious is that of school years.
2.2.1 SPECIAL PROBLEMS OF THE SLOW-LEARNERS:
1. Since in physical appearance they look like normal children, parents and teachers have the same expectations from them as from the latter.
2. When they are not able to live up to these expectations, parents and teachers scold and punish them instead of trying to find out the reason behind their failure.
3. Their classmates make fun of them.
4. Consequently, they are bewildered and confused, wondering what wrong they have committed.
5. Since their basic needs of being loved, accepted and recognised are not met, they develop emotional problems and behaviour difficulties.
6. They generally have a low self-concept due to their limited experience of success and due to the low opinion expressed of them by parents, teachers and others around them.
CHARACTERISTICS
1) In physical appearance they are no different from normal children and therefore likely to get admission into schools for normal children where the curriculum is drawn up to meet the needs of average children. So they find it extremely difficult to cope with the education imparted in these schools, unless special provision is made for them and the curriculum is oriented towards practical and real life activities.
2) They are capable of being educated in ordinary schools and even achieving a moderate degree of success, if they are allowed to proceed at a slower pace and the syllabus is adapted to suit their abilities.
3) But, they will not be able to keep pace with the average children and never be able to learn all the things we expect normal children to master by the time they leave school.
4) They will not be able to go for higher studies despite all the guidance and educational facilities made available to them. 5) They have poor memories. Their attention span is short and
they cannot concentrate on one topic
6) Weakness in thinking capacity, finding out relationships, similarity, familiarity, reasoning, object characteristic observing, poor language and number concept development.
7) Poor verbal ability, Brief vocabulary. 8) Difficulty in abstractions.
9) Weakness in the memory. 10) Constant Feeling of Insecurity.
Physical Characteristics:
Poor in dressing, using drawing & writing materials and tools.
Need large practice in climbing, jumping, dancing, skipping, games etc.
Sometimes SL have better physical development than mental development.
Their capacity to learn is reduced because of sickness, minor ailments, malnutrition etc.
Causes
Poorer powers of retention. Weakness in Attention
Physical or mental personal inadequacy. Having limited capacity for taking responsibility Unable to control feelings of aggression or outburst. Solation.
Showing the sign of slow learner doesn‘t mean that the child is slow learner, there are other factors that could cause the process of slow learning
Feelings about one self and the developing of these feeling positive or negative is called emotional growth, Emotional and social development are often link together because they are relevant. In the initial stages child learn the feelings of trust, fear, and love later on as he grow he develops the feeling of friendship, pride, and relationship which also guide toward social-emotional development of the child.. if the child is ignore in this stage and proper care is not provided to them, they build negative emotion and they avoid trust initially parents and later on other people, they isolated them self from the outer world. Furthermore, a neglected child, feel him self rejected, and unsecured, it affect the developing skills of the child to socialize with others children.
In this stage the changes are very rapid in child and every change bring new change in the behaviour of the child and each change brings about new skills. Child develop multi skills in this stage, the most important one is positive feelings about self and trust building with others
Environment:
Children react to their environment in early stages and he learns from the environment in which they grow. Create a safe environment for them and reduce the stress on your child and remove the things which are physical threats to the children e.g.: abusive behaviour and unsafe toys etc
With whom the child is spending his time, what is their intellectual level. And how they treat the child, when children have a secure environment, it flourishes their abilities in positive direction. Studies show those children who have better environment show better confidence in life and in education.
Growth and opportunities of Learning :
Opportunities of learning is very necessary for the development of children cognitive abilities, Parents should provide rich learning environment to their children and open new windows of learning opportunities for them. They need simple playable activities and games to develop their brains, Show them new things and arrange new activities for them to enhance their thinking skill.
Absenteeism:
Absenteeism from the school is another factor which can affect the ability of learning of a child, when a child is often absent from the class, he could catch with other student in school, he need extra home work with the help of parents to cover his short coming other wise he lose his self confidence
•Use of appropriate methods of learning •–Motivation
–Learning Readiness –A practical approach –Concept formation –Grading of work –Assessment of progress –Consolidation –Active methods ••individualization of treatment
••Cooperation between various professionals ••Parent Education and Guidance
There are several other strategies that are useful. Computers are great to use in the classroom. Computers never tire or get interrupted making the drill and practice more effective and fun. It is important to allow the student time to get out of his/her seat to let off energy and relieve a little stress. A classroom that utilizes centers is good for this. In giving instructions you should say the child‘s name or touch them before giving the direction, write the directions on the board or paper for each child to keep, and ask that the student repeat the direction orally. This helps to reinforce the direction and gives them something to refer back to if they forget. Once the student turns in the work or answers orally, provide immediate feedback. This assures the student of their answer or allows them to correct the answer and keeps them on task. The most important, strategies is to provide three or four hours of academic work. Slow learners are not efficient learners and therefore require more hours of academic instruction to keep pace.
A very big problem that every school faces, i.e. the difficulty to deal with the slow learners. The teachers have their big headache over these children. Handle them in homework & class work, understanding the topic, etc are the areas concerned with the slow learners. We try to advise them or we try to get result by hook or crook through putting negative enforcement by punishing them. It is estimated that due to that problem many slow learners or dropout students are being termed as weak students & thrown out of the school. But that is not the solution. The result of the action of the throwing out the child out of the school paves the way to create a dark spot in the life of the victim child. Then, where are the solutions? If the teachers will give time to think over those children, definitely the solution comes in their hand. It is also the proof in history that many slow learners have become qualified themselves as the scientists & writers in their life. So, why not we experiment with these slow learners who are with us? Have we thought over it? Have we tried to understand the life of a slow learner? The
following discussion may help the teachers to improve the skill of the slow learners.
1. Psychological Analysis & Problem solution -
The more & more we think about the child the more we get the solution. Firstly, we have to search the problem area of the child. The problem of the child may be his family or friends or his personal condition. If we go for personal asking questions as a relative of his own, then we can be assured about getting some difficulties for which the child is not reading. Them we, from our level will try to get solution of this problem.
2. Guidance from his level -
Child has a level of his own. Level of understanding is different from one child to another. The weak child more often can‘t understand the studies because he has not understood the previous formula / concept in the previous classes. How can he understand the concept of class IX if he has not understood the simple concept of class VII & VIII? That‘s why the child should be personally taught from his understanding level.
3. Encouragement in small success -
The greatest factor for the success of the life of the child is his encouragement. If we try to find out the strengths of the weak child then we come across some of them. If we try to applaud him with encouraging words & give confidence he definitely feels his importance & worth. Once the child has grown his confidence means he will definitely improve. The most important cause of his weakness is we; the teachers always give importance to the good children & neglect the weaker in the class. Encouragement can change the whole personality of a child.
4. Fixing the goal & Prescribi9ng a Time table -
The child should be persuaded to make a time table for the study purpose. Sometimes some children have no goal regarding study. The teacher should observe those children & inspire them to fix the goal for the life & help him to make a time table for every day work so that the child will be captured through the time table to do the things at write time.
5. Giving Memory tips -
More often the child forgets what ever he learns. That‘s why he loses his confidence on him & differentiates between him & the good students. The teacher‘s role is to give the tips such as ‗how to recall‘, ‗in which way to write systematically‘, ‗when to learn‘, ‗how to learn‘ etc.
It‘s always seen that the class room teaching goes on with the direction & understanding of the strong children. But if the average children do not understand your teaching & you are just running towards the completion of syllabus then the whole teaching is a futile one. Some times it‘s very urgent to go near the weak child & ask personally whether he has understood or not. Here the teacher‘s asking approach should be very polite & sweet, not rude.
7. Self reading method -
Most of the weak children are found that they neglect self reading. They may have the language understanding problem for which they do not take interest to read. If the teacher freely tells the child to come at home or to him in extra time for understanding the key words then little the child will take interest to self reading. Then definitely he improves himself slowly.
8. Questions for Practice -
Some questions can be given time to time to engage the learner in the habit of study. That is a practice which can enable the student to come across the learning point at a regular basis.
9. Special guidance beyond school hour -
Basically we the teachers now have become very professional. After school hour we hesitate to give even a single minute to the children which reduce our rapport. The weak children, they need special attention beyond school hour that is personally to take up the child‘s difficulty. We the teachers, beyond school hour, either we waste time in gossiping or earn money in tuition. If we give 1 hour extra time for the weak children then definitely they will improve. Because it is very difficult to give time to the weak ones in the classroom itself.
10. Seating arrangement -
More often we see that the strong children in the class room don‘t wish to sit with the weak children. The weak ones always sit with the weak. This is another cause for the no improvement of the weak children. If the class teacher prepares seating arrangements properly to benefit the weak children-to make arrangement to sit the strong one with the weak one & instruct to the strong one to help the weak one in studies then the weak ones may be improved in studies.
11. Search physical or mental problem -
The teacher should find out any physical or mental problem of the child. A child is not writing anything from the black board means may be some eye defect. A child is not obeying the words of the teacher, may be some mental problem is there. Some children are severely affected by the physical problems which made them
lazy to read & write. Firstly the teacher / parent should find out the problems then treat them accordingly.
12. Creating confidence level in his interest areas -
The teacher should observe the child & secretly know the interest areas of the child. Even if the child plays, act, does some work the teacher / parent should find out his interest / specialty. Because every child is special. The encouragement can be started from the child‘s interest areas. When the child builds his confidence in his interest area then we can expand & inspire the same confidence in other areas also.
13. BE A FRIEND TO HIM -
Be a friend to the weak child. Teacher should try to knowingly mix with the child more & more with him. Unknowingly when the friendship is build with that child then the child starts loving the teacher. The starting of love starts the surrender of the child towards the same teacher. Then the teacher, whatever he tells the child obeys it. The mystery of all success is the love, understanding & friendship.
Oh teacher! Many more children are waiting to catch your lovable hand. They are searching you as a friend. They are so called by the society as slow learners or weak ones but actually they are not. May be some unfortunate moment misguided them. Is it not noble to improve them, support them to develop in their own pace? Is it not wise to take care of them?
The history has proved the slow learners such as Thomas Edison & Gandhi as the world class Scientist & Leader respectively.
Every child is special. As every child has a soul, there is every possibility of improvement, sooner or later. The goal of the soul is to develop. The source of energy is lying within them but the only thing is to stretch the hand of confidence towards them which will solve their problem & improve their quality.
2.2.2 Mental retardation:
Introduction:
A developmental disability characterized by significantly sub average general intellectual functioning, with concurrent deficits in adaptive behavior. The causes are many and include both genetic and environmental factors as well as interactions between the two. In most cases the diagnosis is not formally made until children have entered into school settings. In the preschool years, the diagnosis is more likely to be established by evidence of delayed maturation
in the areas of sensory-motor, adaptive, cognitive, social, and verbal behaviors. By definition, evidence of mental retardation must exist prior to adulthood, where vocational limitation may be evident, but the need for supervision or support may persist beyond the usual age of social emancipation.
Definition:
Mental retardation is a developmental disability that first appears in children under the age of 18. It is defined as an intellectual functioning level (as measured by standard tests for intelligence quotient) that is well below average and significant limitations in daily living skills (adaptive functioning).
Limitations in adaptive behavior must also be demonstrable in order to satisfy diagnostic criteria for mental retardation. This criterion is important because certain artistic or other gifts may not be revealed by formal IQ testing, and different levels of learning difficulty may be accentuated by the demands of specific environments. Outside such environments, an individual may navigate a normal course in life.
Levels of Mental Retardation:
Mental retardation varies in severity. There are four different degrees of mental retardation: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. These categories are based on the functioning level of the individual.
Individuals with mental retardation are typically sub classified in terms of the manifest severity of cognitive disability as reflected by the ratio of mental age to chronological age, or intelligence quotient (IQ). Sub average intellectual functioning is defined as an IQ score of at least two standard deviations below the mean, or approximately 70 to 75 or below. Mild, moderate, severe, and profound degrees of mental retardation refer to below the normal IQ for the general population.
Class IQ
Profound mental retardation Below
20
Severe mental retardation 20–
34
Moderate mental retardation 35-49
Mild mental retardation 50–
69 Borderline intellectual functioning 70–
84
